They just turn off the faucet for a few days. You didn't think Niagara Falls was for real, did you? Disney built it.

I kid. The Niagara Falls observation decks are open between May and September. During the winter, the decks are removed, otherwise the ice, wind and snow would wash them away. Thompson crews work on the decks during the offseason, including repairing, protecting and water sealing them.

I have a question that I've tried other avenues to have answered with no success. With you being the TV “expert,” I thought you might be the person to go to. I have been watching theTodayshow for many years while I get ready for work between 7 and 7:30 a.m. I have noticed a man, usually in sunglasses, sometimes with a cowboy hat, sometimes with a hood on, standing along the barricade. I would say 99 percent of the time he is there and acknowledges the camera with a cool look or gesture. Who is this guy? If he is just a fan, he needs to get some kind of award. Just thought you might have the answer or resources to answer this.

The New York Times did a feature on him a few years ago. His name is Linny Boyette. He was born in Jamaica and lives in the Bronx. He is an Army vet. He gets up at 3:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday to stand outside the Today show studio. Matt, Meredith, Ann and Al have become his buddies, and they often invite him inside, especially on cold mornings. But Boyette prefers to stand outside. He has missed only a handful of days in the past 15 years. Boyette is 63, doesn't have a wife, children or a job. He goes home after Today and waits for tomorrow.

In your thinking, what constitutes the meaning of “abuse to an animal”? I say leaving a dog in a backyard and other than feeding it, not even giving it a pat on the head when they return home late at night is extreme neglect! I consider that abuse. Enough said.

Why have a dog then? It's a little different in my house, where Lilly and Dottie have me trained like a seal at Sea World. I'm barely a tenant.

I was watchingCelebrity Apprenticelast night and began wondering who gets the tax write-off for the charity donations Donald Trump gives? Trump? Or the celebrity? I'm going to put my money on Trump.

— Margaret Shilstone,Houston

You're partially right. Trump not only stars in The Apprentice, he is one of the producers. So he's an executive in the corporation, and the corporation gets the tax break. The Apprentice was created by Mark Burnett, who also brought Survivor to television. The Apprentice is seen, in local versions, in dozens of countries around the world. By the way, Trump gets a reported $3 million per episode of The Apprentice, making him one of the highest-paid actors in TV history. Like he needs it.

The celebrities are paid an appearance fee for their roles, and they get to pick their favorite charities.

Where'sthejoke? It's just not baseball's Opening Day unless I read the joke in your column.

— Kevin Moody,Houston

I run the joke only if my column runs the same day as Opening Day. My column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sunday. Unfortunately, Opening Day was Monday this year, so readers were deprived of the funniest joke ever. But since you asked, here it is:

If the Astros lose their first game today, they won't be able to sell beer the rest of the season. Why? Answer: Because they lost the opener.

Hilarious! I read that joke in Highlights Magazine in a dentist's office when I was a kid.